


Bill Hader

by moneytrees



Category: Saturday Night Live
Genre: F/M, Saturday Night Live - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27828304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moneytrees/pseuds/moneytrees
Summary: SNL writer meets her celebrity crush Bill Hader and has to work along side with him. Should she be pushing her feelings down? Is she the only one with the feelings?
Relationships: Bill Hader & Reader, Bill Hader/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

y/n POV:

This next season was going to be my 2nd season writing for Saturday Night Live and was big. Many of the cast members from the 2011 era were reuniting on the show. Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig were the people who drew me towards wanting to work with SNL. Bill Hader was who drew me to watching SNL in the first place.

I was Bill Hader's biggest fan girl back in 2008-2011, crush would be an understatement for the obsession I had for him. In 2008 I had moved into my first apartment with no roommates and the first thing hung in the living room was a poster of Bill Hader from an SNL photo shoot. It didn't stay up for too long after realizing how sad it was for a 24 year old to be dreaming of a married man.

Many of my coworkers know about the crush I used to have for him and I get teased time to time by my friends, so when it was announced he'd be returning, people I'd never even talked to came up to me. I played it cool in front of everyone but my best friend Emma knew how much I was panicking. 

"Hey Em" I took a seat in front of my best friend while pulling out my lunch.

"You know, it's okay that you're not okay" she blurted out.

"What?" I stopped unbagging the packed snacks.

"Y/n, the people you love and worship the most are gonna be here, and I'm not even talking about Hader right now." she pointed her finger at me, referencing to the promise I made her agree to after hearing about the hosts, 'do not bring up Bill Hader'.

"It's a really big deal Emma you're right, but you also aren't helping my nerves. Will I pass out just from being in the same room as Kristen or Fred? Yes... but for now they aren't here and I'm gonna have to pretend like this isn't happening"

Emma nodded and changed the subject helping to take my mind off of the thought of me being a nervous wreck in front of my idols.

\--------------------------

"Y/n!" Emma ran up to me, "we're writing together come on!" she dragged me into a conference room and my eyes immediately landed upon Kristen Wiig.

"Holy shit!" I quietly yelled to Emma still at my side.

"I know right!" she whispered back before dragging me to the star herself, "Hi again! I wanted to introduce you to Y/n, she'll be apart of pitching as well as writing"

I stood there like an idiot with my eyes bugging out of my head, "oh um she's a big fan, her favorite season is 37" Emma covered for me.

"Nice to meet you y/n!" I shook hands with Kristen and chatted for a bit and then took my seat at the long table.

A long time passed and we still hadn't pitched, it wasn't until the tall man from my dreams walked in, "Sorry I'm late everybody" Bill spoke as he made his way towards Kristen embracing her in a hug.

I was speechless, even just looking at him my cheeks grew pink but I still couldn't look away. Eventually everyone who knew about my crush had stared at me waiting for my reaction, just being in the same room as him made me want to cry, there's no way I could pitch my sketch.

"Emma" I whispered looking to my side, "I can't pitch"

"What? Y/n your idea is really good, he'll lo-"

"I can't"

Emma sighed and nodded, then scooted my notebook between the two of us.

Eventually she pitched my idea as a duo effort and I was shaking with anticipation.

"Hmm" Bill studied Emma after she spoke,"so basically a family dinner where everyone knows a secret and thinks they all know the same secret but don't?"

"Yeah, we were thinking you'd go on as the dad" Emma spoke again, we weren't thinking that, she was.

"I love it!" Bill threw his arms up, "it's brilliant and has a lot of comedic potential" 

That was the last needed sketch so everyone began to gather their things when Bill approached me and Emma, "Emma I remember you from the last time I was here" he hugged her as I tried to find a way to run, "That idea is really good! Do you guys often write together?"

"Oh this is actually all y/n's idea, it's only her second season" Emma trailed off before pulling me by her side.

"Hey y/n nice to meet you!" he held out his hand and I hesitantly shook it, "H-hi Mr.Hader"

"Please, call me Bill. I can see why they hired you" he smiled and heat took over my face as I chuckled and looked around, feeling awkward.

"Bill! You've met y/n!" Kenan approached us giving us both a hug, "this girl is great! She's a big fan of yours!" Kenan chuckled as I elbowed his side.

"Well I think I can now say I'm a fan of hers too" Bill laughed.

This all felt unreal, THE Bill Hader liking MY work? Not only that, talking to me like I'm actually important?


	2. Chapter 2

Today was the collaboration for MY sketch, I was still surprised that when I woke up this morning this was all still happening. Bill Hader liking my idea is insane and now I'm actually going to have to work with him!

"Emma!" I called out after finally finding her in the busy breakroom, "I'm freaking out man!"

"Hey y/n it's okay he said he's your fan! The tables have turned!" She said shoving a cup of coffee in my hand.

"No Emma I can't do th-"

"You are not getting out of this one y/n. Let's head to the table early so we can calm your nerves" We shuffled into the small conference room where Kenan was found talking to a few other writers who'd be joining us.

"Hey y/n you don't look too great" Kenan said standing up and pulling out a seat for me. I'd been friends with Kenan since my first week, I found myself playing with his 6 year old daughter on my third day and ever since I've been pretty close with the whole Thompson family.

"I'm just really nervous" I said folding my shaking hands, I caught a glimpse at Emma and Kenan giving each other a knowing look, "Thanks for you help guys" I smiled at them in hopes of getting some alone time. Emma took her seat next to me and the room was filled with silence only a few whispers here and there. I checked my watch, it was 5 minutes till the collaboration officially began. I was buried in the scratch script in front of me when I heard someone setting their stuff down in the seat next to me.

When I looked up I noticed it was none other than Bill Hader, causing my hands to shake once again. 

"Hey,is it alright if I sit here?" He asked even though his jacket and coffee had already marked his place, I nodded my head and he smiled back, taking his seat.

"This is your second season right?" He asked and I forced myself to look him in the eyes, "uh yeah"

"Cool, so you... like it here"

"y-yeah it's pretty fun"

He chuckled and his eyes met mine again, "have you ever thought about being the one on stage?"

I was confused by his question and it must've shown on my face because he then continued, "most writers want to or eventually end up acting too so I was just-"

"O-oh yeah I've wanted to do it b-but I would never. I get nervous and anxious pretty easily" I said pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I used to get like that too, I-I mean I still do" he responded, "why don't you act on this sketch? I mean it's yours, you are literally the idea. It's the perfect time explore what you want to do"

I could feel my cheeks turning red, "Oh no that's alright I could never. I have a hard enough time talking to you I couldn't even imagine acting with y-" I blabbered out, "I think it's best if I stay behind the scenes" 

He chuckled again, "Okay but this isn't the last time I'll ask" He put his hands up as if he was surrendering.

A minute later everyone began to shuffle in and many gave me wide eyes as if trying to tell me Bill Hader was sitting next to me, I just hoped he didn't notice. 

We wrote up a rough draft of a sketch, I earned a few laughs from Bill which made my stomach turn and my cheeks bright.

"So um I was thinking if I play the Dad and Kristen is the Aunt, y/n here could have her first appearance as the mom" Bill said looking back down at me as the room filled with agreements. My face dropped causing Bill to smirk, he leaned back in his chair and towards my ear, "The mom has the easiest and least amount of lines, and I'll be next you the whole time" The butterflies in my stomach were bouncing off the walls and I could barely hear anything over my pounding heartbeat. He was so close and had me on his mind. He wanted me to feel comfortable through him. I looked up at him with wide eyes and he patted my back saying, "You'll be great!"

He then gathered his things and left, and soon it was just me and Emma left in the room.

"Well shit y/n-"

"-What the hell just happened"

"Bill fucking Hader likes you that's what happened!" Emma responded punching me on the shoulder, "I gotta get over to a table read. Relax and go eat some lunch" she said while standing and picking up her coat.

"Thanks mom" I teased as she left the room.

Once I was alone my head fell onto the table. I cannot believe this is happening.


	3. Chapter 3

After being on the edge of a breakdown in the conference room for awhile I decided it's best to eat or drink or at least something. I headed to the breakroom to refill my cup of coffee and busy my mind with anything else.

As I was pouring my coffee I felt a big presence towering over me, "Hey scene partner!" of course it's Bill.

I felt so small as he began to make his own cup of coffee shoulder to shoulder with me, "Are you alright? I-I didn't mean to force you to do something you didn't want to do I-"

"Oh no no no, It's not that" I reassured him looking up at his crinkled brow, "I'm just still trying to wrap my head around... everything" I sighed and he smiled.

"I get it! I was the same way when I first started working here"He gave me a small smile leaning against the counter, "Do you wanna grab lunch with a small group of us?" He asked me.

I stood frozen like an idiot, "don't you guys have more sketches to look over? I mean of course I wanna go to lunch with THE Bill Had-" I shook my head, "Sure I'll come"

"Great! Meet me here in 15 minutes, I've gotta talk something over with some writers" He left before I could respond, this HAS to be a dream.

\------------

After organizing my notes at my desk I made my way to the exact spot Bill told me to be at and he was already there, "Hey! You all ready?" He asked.

"Yup" I swallowed my nerves.

"Great, once Fred gets here we'll head out to the pizza place across the street"

"A-Armisen?"

"Yeah is that okay?"

"Y-yeah m-more than okay" I grew nervous again.

"hmm are you a big fan of his too?" he asked smiling down at me.

"yeah huge fan"

Just then Fred rushed up to us in a hurry "Hey listen Bill-"

"Fred this is y/n, y/n this is Fred. She'll be joining us for lunch" He introduced us, does this mean it's just the three of us... I could've sworn he said a group.

Fred shook my hand quickly and smiled at me, "about that, I can't make it. I'm helping with the writing on one of the bits but can you bring me back a slice of pie? I'll give you some money" He began to pat himself down for his wallet.

"No worries man, I'll pay for it. We can get lunch another day" Bill said patting his shoulder.

"Thank you. It was nice to meet you Bill's new friend!" Fred called out as he rushed back into one of the long tabled rooms.

"Alright Bill's new friend are you ready to go?" Bill asked gesturing towards the door and shoving his hands in his pockets.

I tried to laugh the blush off my face, "uh we're not waiting for anyone else?" 

"Looks like it's just us... do you not want to be seen going out with this handsome face" He said caressing his own cheek making me laugh and shake my head.

We began to walk out and I texted Emma asking if she wanted any pizza and she immediately called me.

"It's Emma" I said pointing the ringing phone towards Bill to which he gave an understanding nod.

I answered the phone, "Hey who are you going with?" she asked.

"Uh...Bill"

"The camera guy?"

"no..."

"The shoe fitting guy?"

"no..."

"Then who?"

"...Hader" I responded causing Bill to look down at me curiously.

"Y/N!!! YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH BILL HADER"

"What!? Emma it's just a casual lunch" I said as quietly possible to not raise any suspicion.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Bill asked as we entered the elevator, I handed him my phone.

"Hey it's... Hader uh I'm not trying to kill your friend.... do you want any pizza?" He looked down at me shaking his head signaling she didn't want anything.

"Okay you can have her back when we finish lunch... bye" He hung up leaving my mouth open, "was that too harsh?" he asked. I closed my mouth quickly and shook my head no and we began walking towards the pizzeria. 

"I don't think I've ever been to this place" I said as we grew closer to the building.

"Really? Seth, Fred and I used to come here all the time after rehearsals" He said and I looked down in attempt to hide my smile.

"What?" he asked smiling.

"Nothing it's just... I thought I made up the cast being friends in my head"

"You thought about us... like out of character?" he asked

"Of course! All the fans do, it makes it more comforting to watch"

"Huh, I guess I never really thought of it like that" He said holding the door open for me, "So you were a big fan during my era?"

"Oh yeah... big fan" I responded looking at the menu hanging from the ceiling.

"Just how big?" He nudged me with his shoulder making me laugh.

"I don't want to scare you away" I said confidently making Bill laugh.

We both ordered our food and decided to eat inside as we were both given our pizzas, "They'll both be on one check please" Bill said leaning over the counter. After a while of verbally and physically fighting Bill payed for both of our meals.

"Oh cool they have chess sets here!" I said while scanning for a table.

"You play chess?"Bill asked stopping by the table.

"uh yeah" I answered shyly and Bill took a seat at the table with the chess board making me smile.

I joined him and began to open my pizza box, "do you know how to play Mr. Hader?" I asked him with a slightly proper voice.

"I'm afraid not Ms.-" He stopped realizing I never told him my last name, there wasn't really a need to, "y/l/n" I finished for him.

"It's not too hard, you just have to learn the moves of each piece" I said while lining up the pieces of both sides of the board, "I used to play my older sister and sometimes when I get stressed out I'll play a game against myself... it's comforting in a dumb way" I said embarrassed.

"It's not dumb. Nerdy maybe" he said making me laugh, "Will you teach me?" he asked.

The rest of lunch was spent teaching Bill how to play chess in between bites of pizza, when we both finished Bill ordered Fred's pizza to-go and we headed back to the building. 

As we walked through the main room once again I had a big smile plastered on my face, "Thanks for lunch" I said turning towards Bill, "yeah yeah anytime" his gaze slowly left my eyes and focused on something behind me, "looks like someone's really holding me up on my promise" I turned around to see Emma walking quickly towards us, and Kenan not too far behind. Em must've told him.

"Heyyy y/n!" Emma greeted me trying too hard to be nonchalant, "How was lunch?"

"Good" Bill and I responded taking me and Emma by surprise.

"Hey guys!" Kenan joined in, "everyone seems to be in good moods so I think we should finish y/n's script today!"

"What?" I responded, "the hell?" Emma finished for me

"Yeah! We're pretty close to a final draft lets try to round everyone up" Bill responded while leaving and talking to a new group.

"Kenan are you fucking crazy?" Emma asked, "We're gonna be up all night!"

"It'll give more time to rehearse. It's y/n's first show and she needs it"

"Hey!" I punched him on the shoulder.

"Sorry. It'll be fine, meet in the conference room in 30" he said and left in a heartbeat.

Me and Emma were left alone and she quickly perked up, "how was lunch?"

"Amazing! Like something out of movie! I taught him how to play chess, it'll take more practice till he's actually good but at least he knows how to play now"

Emma laughed rolling her eyes, "Only you y/n. Only you"


	4. Chapter 4

It was extremely late and everyone was loopy from the lack of sleep, I was proud of myself for how far along my idea and short script had come... my acting skills was another thing.

"I think we've got it" Anna, one of our head writers said, after reading through the script, "will it make much sense in the morning when we've gotten sleep? eh probably not" She said laying the script on the table as the room filled with laughter.

"Alright then I'll see you all bright and early in the morning!" Emma said putting her coat on and waving goodbye at me.

I began to pack up my stuff longing to be in my bed when a hand rested on the notebook I was about to pick up, "Hey y/n you wanna run through your lines real quick? I know the table read can seem nerve racking at first" Bill asked with such a genuine tone, how could I say no.

"Uh-h yeah.. sure! Thanks Bill!" I scattered around taking out my newly written script.

Thankfully I didn't have too many lines, but Bill said how you deliver the lines is what matters most.

We ran through our parts a few times when I asked if I should also do a different voice, "Can you even do a different voice?" He asked with more sass than intended, "I didn't mean to sound so-"

I put my hand on my chest pretending I was hurt, "I see how it is hotshot, but you're not the only one with a wide variety of impressions" 

"Oh really? Let me hear it then" He said crossing his arms with a smug look on his face. 

"Well I mean we all know what Lacy's been up-" I tried to recite a line from the script in a poor old lady's voice but ended up laughing and Bill joined me.

"Maybe not that voice" He said in between laughs, "Can you do a southern accent? It would be more believable that we're married if we sound the same"

"Y-yeah" I stuttered blushing at him bringing up that we're- our characters are married.

We went through the part of the sketch where our characters went back and forth a few times when Bill finally set down his script, "Not bad newbie!"

I glared at him at the sound of the dumb nickname making him laugh, "you better get headed home it's pretty late and people are starting to look at us weird" He said picking up his own notepad and handing me my bag.

"I'd walk you out but Fred's my ride and it'll take me awhile to find him" He said once we walked to the main room, both of us shoving our hands in our pockets.

"Thank you for your help Bill, it really means a lot"

"Hey of course! You're a great writer... we'll work on the actor spectrum" he teased making me laugh and roll my eyes, "but seriously, you could be an actress if you really wanted to"

I smiled brightly and looked down at my feet hiding my face, "Goodnight sketch buddy" I said looking up at him and he smiled, "Goodnight buddy" We then parted ways and I drove home, with a blush on my face the whole ride.

\-------------

When I woke up the next morning my phone had many texts from Emma, of course she's already up.

'Someone told me you stayed up late with Bill!!! Tell me everything!'

'SHIT Y/N!'

'PLEASE WAKE UP'

'OMG'

'YOU'RE GONNA FREAK'

'WORDS GOING AROUND THAT BILL HADER'

'YES THE BILL HADER'

'LOVE OF YOUR LIFE AND NEW FRIEND'

'ASKED AROUND FOR YOUR NUMBER!'

'AHHHHHHH'

Reading the texts my tired eyes opened wide and my hand covered my opened mouth, I didn't want to scream and wake up my cat sleeping next to me.

I immediately called Emma

"Y/N!? I'm guessing you saw my texts"

"Um yeah and I'm freaking the fuck out dude"

"Doesn't really sound like it"

"I'm still in bed"

"I'll come pick you up and we can grab some coffee while discussing your future as Mrs. Hader"

"Em-"

"Bye!" she hung up.

It wasn't until I dropped my phone from my ear when I realized how fast my heart was beating. I wasn't anywhere near Hader and I was still blushing. I opened up my pinterest app to see just what I had expected. A mixture of random pictures on my feed, but as I scrolled, more and more appeared of Bill. Realizing what a creep I must seem like, I deleted the app hoping that I won't ruin whatever it is that I have with Bill fucking Hader.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma picked me up and we grabbed coffee as planned, after the late night yesterday it was essential. We had gossiped like middle school girls about Bill and what had been going on with her and her long-term boyfriend, Dean. 

"Well did reading through help you feel better about the table read today?" Emma asked as the elevator opened. "yeah I'd say so... it also helped that my favorite actor in the world was one on one coaching me, so we'll see how it goes with everyone there"

"You seem a lot more chill about this than normal" Emma said as we entered her office.

"I'm telling you, it's the anxiety pills" I said, making her laugh, "I'm gonna head over to my desk, talk to you later!" I said turning to leave the room.

"Hey, y/n y/l/n right?" Fred fucking Armisen stopped me in the doorway.

"Oh fuck" I mumbled to myself, "y-yes..."

"Bill isn't coming till later and asked for me to get your number if I ran into you" he said quickly, "and here we are running into each other"

"Oh! Um yeah yeah yeah sure!" I then listed off my number in which he thanked and congratulated me on having successful pitch. 

After he left I stood there staring at where he once was, "Y/n this totally proves that you should make your move!" Emma spoke from behind me, "Earth to y/n"

"F-Fred Armisen sent m-my number to Bi-"

"Yes y/n we get it this is huge for you, so act on it! Also I have an important call to make soon so-" Emma trailed off.

"O-oh shit Emma I'm so sorry, okay I'll see you in a bit" I gathered myself and headed to my office shared with two other new writers, Weston and Natalie.

"Good morning guys" I waved at the two before settling down at my desk, "What's wrong Weston?" I noticed him staring at me.

"Oh nothing" he lied.

"Weston" I sternly stared at him which to no surprise broke him.

"Ugh fine, I saw you last night with Bill, you guys were some of the last to leave" he confessed.

"What!?" Natalie spun around in her chair, "You didn't tell me about this. Y/n! That's so exciting!"

I smiled at them, "He was just helping me run through the lines before the table read today, I was pretty nervous"

"Yeah you should be" Weston said earning a pencil to the head thrown by Natalie, "Shut up Weston" She glared at him, the the phone on my desk began to ring as the two threw office supplies at each other.

"Hello y/n it's Araceli from front desk, Dean's here to see you is it alright if I send him up?"

"Of course! Thank you Araceli!"

I became friends with Dean before I had met Emma, but it's still weird that he's coming to see me, it must be about her Christmas gift.

I made my way to the main room so he wouldn't get lost and spotted him looking around nervously. He looked like he stopped here before heading off to work.

"Hey Dean! Are you alright?" I asked him while embracing him in a hug.

"Y-yeah can we talk in private?" He asked still nervously looking around, and wringing his hands. I gave him a curious look and took him into an open conference room, he shut the door as we walked in.

"So um... you know Emma sees you as a sister a-and of course I do too" He stood up straight finally meeting my eyes as I nodded, "and you guys always talk about needing your sisters blessing" he cleared his throat.

"Oh my God" I whispered.

"Y/n... I'm here to ask you for your blessing to marry Emma"

"Y-yes! Of course!" I hugged him once again, my vision growing blurry, "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Well she still has to say yes" He chuckled

"Dean are you kidding, she went on a two hour rant this morning about how pretty your kids would be" I then became aware of my surrounding again, "we should get you out of here while she's still on that phone call" I peaked through the blinds on the window looking for any sign of her, "Expect a call or text from me later to hear all about your proposal plan" I said before opening the door and quickly rushing Dean into the elevator.

I still had about half an hour before the table read, so I made my way back to my desk to get some writing done.

\-------------------------

I made my way into the conference room in a happy mood and saved the seats on either side of me for Emma and Bill. Emma didn't come in too long after me, telling me what had happened the hour we had spent apart, I wish I could tell her about Dean.

I watched as Bill walked in and took a seat 6 people down. Disappointed, I took my coat off the seat next to me. I felt dumb, why would he sit next to me, he probably only coached me so I wouldn't mess up everything for everyone in the sketch. 

The head writer finally walked in requesting for us to sit how we would on stage meaning Bill on my right and Kenan on my left. Great.

We all shuffled around and Kenan and I made small talk while waiting for everyone else to get situated.

"Bad mood today Bill?" Kenan looked passed me as Bill took his seat. He didn't respond only raising an eyebrow.

The writers began to discuss as the rest of us just sat, I felt out of place, I should be with the other writers.

"I'm sorry I kept you up so late last night" I whispered to Bill, once again he didn't say anything.

My phone in my lap buzzed taking my attention away from grumpy Bill. It was Dean, he had sent me a picture of the engagement ring making me beam. I rested my elbows on the table as I began to text back.

"Is that yours?" Bill finally spoke.

"What?" I looked over at him. He gestured towards my phone, "the ring"

"oh" I laughed, "No no no, I'm not uh with anyone right now"

Bill had a confused look plastered on his face, "But I saw you today with-"

"That's just Emma's boyfriend" I pointed to my friend across the room, "he asked me for my blessing to marry her"

Things began to piece together for Bill but I could tell he still didn't understand, "W-we both want out future husbands to ask our sisters for their blessing, because our sisters are more important to us than our parents. Dean and Emma are like my family so he asked me too. Isn't that sweet?" I smiled up at Bill.

"Yeah, that is sweet" he replied, "and you didn't keep me up. When you apologized earlier...I had a fun time" he smiled.

I felt my cheeks grow hot and eavesdropping Kenan nudged me with his elbow and I nudged him back while we began to officially start the table read.

The table read went better than expected, I earned lots of praise from coworkers who never expected me to act.

"Hey bud, do you want to run through the script again tonight? I have the scripts for my other sketches you could help me with...?" Bill asked before I could leave to lunch.

"Oh man Hader, I really really want to but I have a scheduled skype call with my niece and nephew tonight"

"Oh no of course! Family first!"

I checked my watch, "Well I mean they're 3 hours behind so if we start earlier I definitely could."

"Are you sure? You don't have to I just want your opinion on a few of my characters" He said making my heart jump and my cheeks blush.

"It's fine! I just gotta head out before 8:30" I smiled at him, "I promised to get lunch with Emma today, would you like to join us?"

Bill sighed, "Promised Fred" I nodded remembering our encounter with him yesterday.

"Then I'll see you later Mr. Hader"

"See ya Ms. Y/l/n" He waved and shuffled out along with the group of other coworkers.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma and I had returned from lunch and I returned to my writing for the rest of the evening until my phone buzzed from a notification.

'Hey y/n it's Bill, I'm free to go over my scripts whenever you're ready'

'I'm just about done where do you wanna meet?' I texted back trying to control my heavy breathing while adding his number to my contacts as BILL FREAKING HADER referencing to the old photo album I had a few years ago titled the same thing. 

I turned off my computer and stacked my notebooks into my bag as the door to our office door opened and Bill's head popped in.

"Bill!" I said shocked

"Bill?" Natalie and Weston asked in unison staring up at the actor and he gave them a nervous wave. I swung my bag onto my shoulder and headed out the door with him saying my goodbyes to my friends staring at me in shock.

Bill led me to the empty conference room in the back and I set my bag down on the table in front of me.

"So uh, how many nieces and nephews do you have?" He asked as he organized the second set of scripts he had brought.

"3 nephews, 5 nieces and another one on the way. Ellie, Henry, Penelope, Vienna, Elliot, Mallory, Peyton, Steven and Dawn is due at the beginning of next month."

"Wow did you rehearse that?" Bill laughed,"So the girls outnumber in your family too"

"Yeah, I have 3 older sisters no brothers, I guess their kids are following in our footsteps" I laughed, "I'm sure you can agree that girls are really fun though"

"Oh yeah" he laughed, "I'll always be thankful for having 3 girls rather than boys, that'd be... messy" he shook his head, "How old is your oldest niece?" he sat on the table.

"Ellie is 6, then Henry is 5, Penny's 4 and it repeats after that so there's about to be 4 babies in the family. It's pretty exciting" I said smiling, "I'll have to start making more frequent and longer trips out to California though"

"Man, 4 babies that is... tiring" Bill responded crossing his arms.

"Tell me about it, I was basically Ellie and Henry's second mom when Ellie was one and Henry was a newborn. It let my sister go back to work. I love little babies but I never want my own, I get my fair share of baby time as an aunt"

"Hmm remind me to take up Kenan's offer to hire you as a babysitter sometime"

"Kenan told you?!"

"I didn't know it was a secret... what's wrong with babysitting"

"N-nothing I just don't want people to think I'm desperate for money"

"Why do you do it?"

"I love playing with kids... In a non pedophile way" Bill laughed, "It helps when I get homesick and I put the money towards plane tickets" I shrugged, "So um... are we gonna take a look at these scripts?"

"Oh yeah sure thing Aunt y/n" He said keeping a straight face.

"Hader!" I rolled my eyes making him laugh and we finally began to read through his scripts. He didn't need much help just adjustments to the way his characters talked, he said getting any criticism helped calm down his anxiety. We went through his sketches in no time and I had plenty of time to get back to my apartment.

"Are you gonna pick up something to eat on the way home?" He asked holding the conference door open for me.

"No I'll probably just walk straight home, I have cereal" I smiled at him.

"Oh I can drive you home" He looked at me concerned.

"Oh no it's fine re-"

"Y/n I don't feel comfortable with letting you walk home in the dark, we can pick up something on the way, it's really no hassle"

"I-"

"It's decided" he sternly looked at me making me tightly grip the strap on my bag as a blush covered my face. "I'm just gonna go let Fred know I'm headed out... you'll probably wanna join me there's no way of knowing how long this'll take"

I tried to keep up with Bill's long strides as we made our way to Fred's temporary office. Bill knocked twice and walked in leaving the door open and I stood behind Bill like a little kid.

"Hey Fred we're leaving" Fred glanced away from whatever he was writing, "Okay! I'll uh see you both tomorrow then" he smiled.

"Don't stay up too late" Bill said as he took two candies from a bowl laid out on the desk, and handed one to me.

"Yeah yeah okay mom" Fred said in a kids voice while shooing us out the door.

We made small talk on the way to the parking garage and we ended up at a rental subaru. He opened up the door for me making me blush at what a gentleman he is. He plugged in his phone before backing out of the parking spot, "What do you want to eat?"

"There's a McDonald's like a minute away from my apartment building" I said looking out the window as all the bright lights passed us.

"Do you really want that? You don't have to make things easier for me y/n, I probably won't be asleep till after midnight anyways" he slightly smiled at me making my stomach flutter.

"I don't really mind where we go Bill, if they have chicken nuggets I'm good to go"

He laughed throwing his head back at the red light, "You sound like Harper" just then his phone began to ring and the screen on the car lit up reading, 'Maggie's Home Phone'

"Speaking of, I have to take this I-" he said trying to disconnect the phone from the car.

"-Oh no of course!" I replied trying to resist the urge to help him.

"How the hell am I supposed to-" He mumbled pressing random buttons on the screen, "piece of shit" he said before pressing the green button so the car was filled with sudden yelling.

The call lasted about 10 minutes as Bill tried to help his daughters settle a fight while their mom was away and their grandma was watching them. Bill was noticeably happy to be hearing his daughters voices even if they were yelling and whining, he was extremely patient and ended up being able to stop their little dispute. 

"I'm sorry about that" he said after he hung up.

"no it's fine" I chuckled and shook my head.

"What's so funny" he asked turning his attention towards me as we finally pulled up to a Panda Express we had agreed on.

"Nothing, i-it just reminds me of me and my sisters" I said smiling and looking down as I unbuckled my seat belt to get out. 

Bill and I headed to the front door as he asked, "What did it take for you guys to get along?"

"We got along, we were always friends but we didn't completely stop fighting until everyone started to move out"

"Oh great that really helps" he replied making me belly laugh.

He paid for my meal once again and we got it to-go just to be sure I got home in time. I began to give him directions towards my apartment and I awkwardly sat in the car not knowing how to leave, "Do you want to come up? I don't want you to have to eat cold food' I nervously spat out.

"Oh I'm fine thanks" he said tapping his thumb on the steering wheel.

"You sure? We could play a game of chess while we eat" Bill looked up at me as I said this, searching my face for an answer, "y-yeah yeah sure,practice makes perfect"

I led Bill up to my apartment while trying to recall when the last time I had a boy over was. This wasn't' just any boy, this was fucking Bill Hader. 

"Home sweet home" I said while opening up my door and turning on the lights, "fair warning I have a cat and I don't really know how she'll react to men, so sorry in advanced" 

I set out my chessboard on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch while Bill took a seat in the lounge chair across from me. We began to eat in silence as we were studying the game in front of us. A noise came out of the open laptop on my desk when I suddenly remembered, "oh shit" I scrambled across the room to grab my laptop and sit back down on the couch.

"Is that your skype call? I can go if-" Bill began.

"No it's fine I can multitask... unless you're uncomfortable..." I said while opening up the skype app and Bill shook his head no.

"Aunt y/n!" My niece's face and voice popped up.

"Hey Ellie-bo-bellie!" I glanced above the screen to see Bill holding in his laugh and I glared at him while moving my pawn piece.

I began to talk to my nieces and nephew about their week until my sister came in to say it's time for bed.

"Hi Liv!" 

"Oh hey y/n!" my sister picked up the camera, "I saw that Bill Hader is coming back to SNL with all of your... other.. people"

I froze knowing this was not going to go well, I looked up to see Bill with his hand over his mouth laughing.

"Yeah I'm gonna be uh acting with him for one of the sketches" I mumbled loud enough so she could hear me.

"What?! Y/n! Are you freaking out or what? Is he as tall and charming as you used to say he was" Liv teased making my cheeks go red.

"Okay Liv, that was like forever ago"

"Remember when-" she began and I knew where it was gonna go.

"-Someones actually at the door right now! I'm so sorry but I have to go, bye Liv I love you, text you later"

"See you on TV! Love you!" She then ended the skype and I slumped back in the sofa embarrassed.

"Huh, even when you're all flustered and embarrassed you still beat me in chess" Bill said making me groan and cover my face, "I'm sorry Hader"

"For what? Being obsessed with me?" He laughed while getting up and throwing our trash away, "I am gonna go though, and it may or may not be because I'm scared of how much you used to talk about me"

"Hader!" I yelled

"Sorry sorry" he laughed, "I'll see you tomorrow buddy thanks for the game" and he quickly left without a fuss. The realization that Bill Hader was in my apartment kicked in as I screamed into my pillow and crawled into a ball from embarrassment.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up on the couch after a long night of Criminal Minds, fortunately I didn't have to head into work until the evening. I was feeling nervous for the rehearsal, which led me to feeling nauseous. There wouldn't be a live audience today, but we still had perform on the stage. I got up washed my face, took my pills, and fed my cat, Paget. While watering my plants I called Emma guessing she'd be awake by now.

"Hey Emma"

"Hello?" she groaned.

"Are you hungover?" I stopped watering my plants for a moment.

"Um... yeah I had a lot of wine when Dean came over last night"

"Do you need me to bring you anything?"

"No I'm fine thanks" she mumbled.

"I have something big to tell you but I can wait till you're....better" I said while taking my towel into the bathroom, "get some rest, I'm gonna take shower now. Talk to you later" I hung up not knowing if she was still awake on the other end of the line.

\--------------------

I arrived at work around the same time as Emma and told her about my night with Bill, which to no surprise earned me a headache from all of her screaming. "I feel... I don't know! Is it even allowed?" I lowered my voice as we made our way to her office.

"Y/n you played chess at your apartment, why wouldn't that be allowed" Emma said sitting back in her office chair as I made my way to the couch in the corner, "but if it wasn't allowed, wouldn't the risk make it more fun-"

"Emma"

"-more sexy"

"Emma!" I shrieked as my friend threw her head back laughing, "I'm gonna go get ready for the rehearsal, I'll see you later Em" I said while getting up from the couch.

"I'll see you on stage Mrs. Hader"

"Emma" I groaned one last time before exiting her office and making my way towards mine, Weston and Natalie weren't there, they probably already went home for the day.

I read through my script a few more times pacing across the room shaking, I then remembered the mini chess board in my desk drawer my sister had gifted me. Setting my script down I began to play a game of chess against myself,suddenly feeling more relaxed.

I had been playing for a bit less than half an hour when the door opened, "Oh, hey Hader" I said at the sight of the man in the dark doorway.

"Chess?" he said approaching my desk.

"Yeah it-"

"-Calms your nerves...I remember" he said studying the board in between us, I watched his eyes race across the game in front of him and light up as he found different strategies, he finally looked up and I noticed I'd been staring at him for far too long.

"I came in to tell you we're changing into costumes now" he said, slowly stepping back to the door, "and th-there's no reason to be nervous, it's just us"

"Thanks Hader" I smiled at him and he nodded his head and slowly shut the door.

He was being so different, maybe he was just tired but everything about him was slower. He didn't have the same funny suave to him, he seemed nervous. It must just be the nerves about tomorrow night.

I made my way to the dressing rooms where many familiar friendly faces smiled at me.

"Hey y/n! This is so exciting finally having you back here with us" Kate said after calling me over to her, she was holding a dress and pantsuit in one arm, "Madison is around the corner she'll get you ready"

"Thanks Kate!" I brightly smiled at her then made my way toward my close friend Madison's room.

"Wow Maddie, I've never seen you in action before" I said seeing her hang up various types of costumes on a rack.

"Y/N!" she shrieked giving me a hug, "I'm so excited to get you all ready! I'll do your costume hair and makeup, your dress is on the seat over there" she said pointing to a large seat in the wide messy room, I put it on and saw it was a simple white dress with a rounded collar, I looked pretty good for someone playing a mom.

Madison put me in a short blonde wig with normal makeup and I was sent behind the curtain to "figure it out", clearly Madison didn't know what happened after her department. I glued to the side of the hallway not knowing where I was supposed to be when Fred, dressed as a woman passed me.

"Fred!"

"Y/n! You look great" he said pulling his attention away from the script in his hand.

"You look very beautiful yourself, uh do you have any idea of where I should be?" I asked and he looked around.

"I'm afraid not, this next sketch is me but keep asking around someone's outta know" he said before taking his place to the side of the curtain.

I saw Bill come out of the other side dressed in a tux (talk about heartthrob) as they called on the next skit. I followed him to another hallway with many more doors "Hey Bill sorry to bug you, I know you're in a rush but... where am I supposed to be?" I asked quickly knowing he'd have to do a costume change.

He looked around before opening a door, "Just stay in my dressing room, I'll come back to get you later" he said shutting the door as soon as I stepped in.

Alone in Bill Hader's dressing room, talk about a main character moment.

I looked around taking in my surroundings, because he was just a guess the room was pretty basic. I took a seat in the tall chair in front of a mirror. His phone and wallet were lying on the counter in front of me. There was a mini fridge next to a bright blue sofa where his folded clothes were set on top. I touched up my wig and make-up and listened to the commotion outside on stage before Bill came back in.

"Wow" I laughed at the sight of Bill wearing a similar blonde wig as me.

Bill closed the door and put on the shoes he carried in to his room, "How do I look?" he asked patting down his flannel shirt.

"mmm white" I responded getting out of chair to stand next to Bill examining our new looks.

"Uhm w-we should probably head out there" Bill said gesturing to the door.

"okay" I looked up to Bill avoiding my eyes, "are you okay Bill?"

"Oh yeah I'm fine, I just don't sleep a lot before a show" he said opening the door for me.

We walked to the side of the stage, watching the skit be played out with a few stops to redirect or switch out props. I saw Emma sitting in the in the front row. She never watched all of the first rehearsal, it was sweet knowing she was there for me.

Before I knew it, the stage was being set up for our skit. My sketch that I came up with and wrote. This is ridiculous. 

"Hey y/n, it's just practice" Bill literally shook me out of my thoughts," and you know this bit better than anyone, okay?"

I nodded and joined Bill out to the stage where a table with 6 chairs was placed, Bill and I took seats at the head of the table facing the audience. 

Emma gave me a small wave once I caught her gaze.

We ran through the sketch with no problem, but we also held off on the accents. We headed behind curtain and Bill disappeared, he probably had another sketch. Emma surprised be with hug as she drug me to Madison's office, "you did it! you thought you couldn't and you did!" she said wrapping her arm around my shoulder. I put my own clothes back on and joined the writers and watched the rest of rehearsal.


	8. Chapter 8

I had headed straight home after the rehearsal and it seemed as though everyone else did too. I was curled up on my couch watching TV eating ice cream around midnight when my phone vibrated, it was a text from Bill.

'Hey! I didn't get the chance to tell you how rad you were today, you'll do just as great tomorrow'

'Thanks! ;)' I sent back and almost got an instant reply.

'You should be asleep'

'...sounds hypocritical' 

'you're not wrong, but this isn't my first rodeo, newbie'

'Man I hate that nickname' I sent as I got up to make a glass of chocolate milk.

'How much longer do you think you'll be up?' Bill's name popped up on my screen.

'I don't think my body plans on falling asleep'

'What are you doing right now?'

'making chocolate milk...what's with all the questions?'

'hm real mature, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me on a late night stroll?'

'First of all, 'stroll?' Second of all, it's late don't you think it's kind of dangerous?'

'I'll protect you m'lady' I caught my self blushing at the message and Bill sent another text.

'So I'll take that as a yes?'

'I'll be ready when you get here' I responded while changing into warmer comfy clothes, and packing a bag with my camera and 2 chocolate chip muffins. 

I relaxed on the couch while my cat, Paget, made herself comfortable on my lap. Not too long after a silent knock sounded from the door along with a small, "it's me" from Bill.  
I opened the door and grabbed my bag while Paget curled up next to Bill's feet.

"Sorry about Paget" I said grabbing my keys and picking up the cat.

"Paget? That's a real human name for a cat" Bill said crossing his arms.

"After my celebrity crush Paget Brewster" I said while we stepped out in the hallway and I locked the door.

"and here I thought I was special" Bill teased and I rolled my eyes at him, "all set m'lady?" he asked holding his arm out towards the elevator.

\---------------------------------------------------------

We had made our way out of the busy streets, and after awhile of talking and giggling like school kids, we found ourselves at the perfect view of the Queensboro Bridge. I followed Bill's lead toward a bench facing the unreal view.

"I've never actually taken the time to sight see" I confessed well bringing my camera out of my bag.

"It's really nothing like Oklahoma" He looked over to me, "or California" he smiled and my camera caught his eye, "wow, a writer, superior chess player and photographer? What can't you do y/n?"

I smiled at him shaking my head while taking the lens off the camera and taking a picture of the perfect view in front of us.

"Can I take your picture?" I asked Bill taking my eye off the viewfinder.

"Oh no that's oka-"

"Hader please, just for me to remember my first real New York experience" I begged, the memory of the wall in my apartment full of pictures with smiling familiar faces popped in my head, I could make room for another. 

"I don't know what to do with myself in pictures" He said crossing his arms. 

"I'll set a timer and we can both be in it..?" I suggested. Bill looked up at me before nodding his head and standing up mumbling, "yeah yeah that could work"

I set the camera on the bench with a short timer and jumped next to bill, wrapping my arm around his side and holding my hand out towards the bridge. Bill soon followed me, grabbing my waist and smiling. After it flashed, I picked the camera back up and brought it over to Bill, we both smiled down at the picture. 

"Can you send me that when you get the chance?" Bill asked looking down over my shoulder, causing me to blush.

I slightly laughed, "we can take one on my phone" I said while pulling it out. Bill slightly bent down to fit in the screen and we took a selfie with the perfect view behind us. I sent the picture and he smiled down at his phone as he saved it to his camera roll.

We sat back down on the cold bench and ate the two muffins enjoying the peaceful noises from the distant city. It was one of those moments that I know will forever be at the front of my memory. A moment I'll continue to question if it really happened. An almost romantic midnight walk with my dream guy Bill Hader. I was lost in my thoughts.

"I have an idea" Bill said turning towards me crumbling up his trash from his muffin. I gave him a questioning look as I took my final bite, "Do you know how to dance y/n?"

I was taken back by this question, dance? Like fist pumping dance?

"Da-" He stood up before I could finish grabbing my hand, he took the trash out of it and threw it in the trash before lifting me up from the bench. He quickly walked around the corner to a lowly dimmed alleyway. It would be sketchy if it weren't for the close wall at the end.

I was slightly out of breath from keeping up with his long legs and didn't ask any questions as he pulled his phone out and a slow classical song filled the alley. The music got louder and he placed his phone in his back pocket before unfolding his hand towards me, "Can I have this dance m'lady?" he asked.

My face began to heat up and a bright smile crept onto my face without knowing, I nodded my head and took his hand as he pulled me closer. I pretended to curtsy with an invisible dress and he bowed before taking my hand again. 

"The answer to your answer is no, I don't know how to dance" I said looking down at our enclosed hands, "I'll teach you" he responded as he lightly moved my left hand to his right shoulder. Our eyes met as he placed his hand on my hip, I felt his left hand slowly meet my right and softly hold it up. I watched as his eyes moved to our hands, the lights leaving a flicker on them. He looked back at me nodding as he pushed us closer together.

He began to lead me to the music, in no time our feet moved in time. "You know you're not actually to watch your feet the whole time" Bill whispered, and I looked up at him both of us chuckling. There was a short moment that felt like eternity when our eyes met and our bodies leaned into each other, both of our smiles slowly fading. I quickly looked away, scared to look into his deep eyes for too long. We continued to dance in the alleyway, my body became more and more tired as our time went on, our sways became sloppier. 

"We better start heading back to your apartment" Bill stated, his words filled with regret. I nodded in agreeance slowly letting my grasp of him go, but my wind was knocked out of me as he spun me into a dip. I looked up at him laughing at my reaction and I joined him, before too long we were laughing like school kids again, making our way back to my apartment.


End file.
